After 14 seasons running the offense for the Indianapolis Colts, how long would it take Peyton Manning to find a comfort zone doing the same thing for the Denver Broncos?

The Associated PressDenver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) reacts after being sacked by the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday.

Some of the football world felt the Hall of Fame-to-be quarterback had already found one last week when he completed 73 percent of his passes in a 31-19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now these folks are probably reserving judgment after watching Peyton throw three first quarter picks in Monday night's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Said one pundit: "So much for the Peyton Manning Super Bowl Express."

At the moment, that's life for a four-time MVP fighting his way back from four neck surgeries that made him spend the 2011 season as a spectator.

"Any time you come on the road and throw three interceptions in the first quarter, you put your team in a hole, put your defense in a hole," Manning said. "It was all my fault, no excuse for me. We battled back and had a chance. But, in the end, I put our team in too big a hole."

John Elway, the Hall of Fame quarterback who recruited Manning for the franchise he now oversees, made his move when the Colts decided to release manning.

Elway was surprised. He knew it left Manning "with a chip on his shoulder."

"I knew he wanted to prove it wasn't the right move," Elway said. "I also knew, whenever you challenge a guy with the ability and work ethic Peyton has, you're going to see good things come out of it. As a quarterback, his game was more cerebral than mine. The older I got, I became more cerebral. No matter how you get it done, it all comes down to your competitive nature."

To Elway, the biggest barrier facing Manning at his new address would be learning a new language at 36.

"He's always been a cerebral guy, the way he plays the game and takes advantage of everything on the cerebral side," Elway said. "A lot of it is like riding a bike for him, plus putting in new things he can do because he loves the mental side. His mind never goes backward. There's going to be adjustments week in and week out. Peyton knew those guys in Indy, those receivers, he had them forever. As long as Peyton's in Denver, he's going to change things and there's going to be new things all the time."

What made Monday's contest special was watching how the "other" quarterback went about business. Last week Manning threw his 400th touchdown pass.

Atlanta's Matt Ryan is into his fifth NFL season. In the third quarter, he threw the 100th touchdown pass of his career.

While he was not matching what he did when he threw for 299 yards and three TDs in an opening win over Kansas City, Ryan was more than impressive in completing 67 percent of his passes for two touchdowns.

"All I know is we're 2-and-0, but we've got a long road ahead of us," Ryan said. "Our defense stepped up and did an outstanding job against one of the best quarterbacks who ever played the game."

"I think we did a good job holding our disguises," Falcons safety Tom DeCoud said. "We were kind of confusing Manning a bit. I was kind of surprised we had him on his heels. He usually has the defense on its heels. We stepped up with it and stayed the course. When you can go out and have a quarterback like him reeling a little, it makes a statement for the talent we have."

Now it's all up to Peyton Manning to make a statement, as he enters his second NFL life at age 36.

John Elway quarterback two Super Bowl winners in his mid-30s.

Can Manning make certain throws at 36 he made in his 20s?

Or, later in life, before his four surgeries?

To one observer, Monday night's Manning appeared to be a quarterback "stubbornly trying to squeeze the football into tight spaces."

Bronco safety Mike Adams is not worried about what happened Monday night.

"Peyton is going to be all right," he said. "I've seen him have games like that before and he's come back and won them. One more quarter and we win this one."

All we can do is sit back and let the games, and the memories, play on.